Saturday, October 11, 2014

"The Photography of Stevie Nicks : The 24 Karat Gold Collection" debuts at Morrison Hotel Gallery, 201 Mulberry Street, NYC, on October 10 and 11, and will move to the Morrison Hotel Gallery Loft at 116 Prince Street for the month of October, 2014. For a special online-only sneak peek of V Magazines upcoming issue, the rock icon supplied them with some extra selfies and some words of self-reflection.

Watch out for more from the issue and from Nicks, coming soon

Within the glittery pantheon of rock-and-roll royalty, there is no higher queen than Stevie Nicks. Her influence as a songwriter, singer, and style icon is practically unparalleled. Both in Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist, she’s had a hand in writing some of the most indelible songs of the 20th century. Her own personal style—an aesthetic marked by scarves, ribbons, tambourines, and witchy platform boots—has spawned decades of aspiring, Stevie-worshipping sisters of the moon. Her life is both an inspiration and a cautionary tale, and is one of the most dramatic and chronicled in all of music history. Having endured heartbreak, drug addiction, and the ruthlessly mercurial tastes of the music industry, Nicks has not simply survived, she has thrived. While so many of her peers have perished, retired, or simply been relegated to the dustbin of nostalgia, Stevie Nicks—the eternally wild heart—continues to forge ahead.

Over 40 years into her career, the 66-year-old Nicks is busier than ever. In 2011 she released In Your Dreams, her first new studio album in ten years, and then followed it up with an accompanying documentary and nearly two years of solid touring. And this fall she premieres 24 Karat Gold—Songs from the Vault, a newly recorded collection of previously unreleased songs that span the entirety of her career. Around the same time, Nicks will once again rejoin her old bandmates in Fleetwood Mac—including a newly unretired Christine McVie (“I can’t even tell you how much fun she is and how nice she is and how funny she is—she just lightens up everything”) for yet another massive world tour. Even though she remains steadfastly committed to forward momentum, mining her catalog has proven fruitful for Nicks, providing some fascinating perspective on her tumultuous career.

“I think in my heart of hearts I always knew that we were going to make it,” she says. “I did. I believed that I was going to make it before I ever even met [former love and songwriting partner] Lindsey [Buckingham]. So, you know, I always had high expectations. I was going to jam my songs down people’s throats if I had to, but I was going to be a singer-songwriter, no matter what.”

Her own tempestuous personal life is now the stuff of legend—“I always remember, about three weeks after going to rehab, walking across that Palm Springs desert in the grass of Betty Ford, after actually meeting Betty Ford, and thinking, If the First Lady can do it, I can do it”—and much of it is reflected in these songs. Tracks like “Lady,” from 1971, blueprint her signature style: a keen sense of melody and the kind of emotional immediacy that make her work feel like personal property to audiences across the globe. According to Nicks, one of the pleasures of at long last properly recording the songs is that doing so reactivated so many good memories.

“‘Lady’ was probably the first song I ever wrote on piano,” she recalls. “I think ‘Rhiannon’ is probably the third or fourth song I wrote. At the time, Lindsey and I had moved into a house with our friend Keith, and I remember going, How am I going to live in this little, tiny house with these two guys and try to do music? I remember listening to Keith’s big, fantastic stereo and vacuuming to Chaka Kahn’s ‘Sweet Thing.’ You know, just vacuuming like a madwoman and singing along to Chaka. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

Though Nicks continues to write music, she also embraces her role as mentor, dishing advice on The Voice, popping up (as herself) on American Horror Story, and most recently striking up a friendship with Rookie’s teen phenom (and avowed superfan) Tavi Gevinson. “Tavi is like my newest, youngest child,” she gushes. “I brought her golden Chanel platform boots from Paris. She’s going to be a huge force in this world.” And on her role as rock and roll’s reigning elder stateswoman?

“You know what? It feels like a great honor,” she says. “To be able to do what I love and help people is great. I’ve talked about this a million times, but it’s good to throw out a few little nuggets of wisdom. You know, a few little things that I’ve done that I would not do if I had it to do over. Also, just to put a few little things in my songs that might just open your eyes a little bit about where you are going. I feel good that I can do that.”

Not only was Stevie Nicks light years ahead of her time promoting the whole ethereal gypsy witch aesthetic (you're welcome, American Horror Story: Coven), but she was doing selfies before they were cool. (To be fair, though, Ringo Starr has her beat.)

That habit is the source of inspiration for the new photographic exhibit "24 Karat Gold," at New York's Morrison Hotel Gallery. (Prints are also available through the gallery's website and its Los Angeles location at the Sunset Marquis Hotel.)

In Nicks's own words: "I wanted to learn how to become a photographer and since I don't sleep at night, I started thinking, who am I going to ask to stay up all night and then do a show the next night?"

"I had a long cord that plugged into the Polaroid, and I put it on a tripod. I would sit with the button in my hand so that I could be completely dressed in a long white gown with red lipstick and big hair … I usually had to take about 12 shots until I got it just right. Lots of times I'd run out of film and I would send people out to buy me film in the middle of the night. I was doing this forever and I didn't stop until Polaroids were almost impossible to use because they all eventually broke down and we couldn't find film anywhere."

Nicks, who adds that she "didn't even get a digital camera until 2002," says she doesn't consider the series "selfies" (sorry, Stevie). She says she uncovered the shots while looking back on songs from years ago for her new album.

Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart (who produced Nicks's new album) curated the exhibit. "When Stevie was showing me some Polaroids she had in a shoe box about a year ago I couldn't help but notice the amount of care and attention to detail she had taken in taking these photos … [The exhibition] is an intimate look – a frozen moment in time through the eyes of the artist herself – during a period when she was as successful as any rock star could ever be and at the same time as vulnerable and lonely as every artist can be when it's 4 a.m."

Nicks's new album, 24 Karat Gold, was released Oct. 7. Fleetwood Mac is currently on a tour that reunites them with departed vocalist Christine McVie for the first time in years.

Stevie Nicks and the rest of Fleetwood Mac were in New York City this past week to perform at Madison Square Garden and to appear on TV, but Thursday night, three-fifths of the band was also on hand to host the opening night reception of a photographic exhibit of Polaroids that Stevie took of herself from 1975 to 1987. Call them "selfies" if you like, though Stevie herself doesn't.

"I don’t consider this series of Polaroids 'selfies,' which are usually you and somebody who’s standing behind you," she said in a statement about the exhibit, which is called 24 Karat Gold, just like her new album. "My portraits could be full body and lots of props. You could be on a chaise lounge with shawls and feathers and a cat or dog. They were well thought out."

The exhibit in downtown Manhattan was curated by Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart, who produced Stevie's last solo record, In Your Dreams. He told ABC News Radio Thursday night that he sorted through shoeboxes full of Stevie's Polaroids to find the ones he felt were the most "atmospheric."

The gallery was filled to capacity with fans and well-wishers, all who came to admire the huge blow-ups of the photos, which feature Stevie adopting a variety of personas and moods. Everyone at the gallery, of course, also hoped to catch a glimpse of Stevie, and they certainly did.

At one point during the evening, Nicks swept out of a private back room, surrounded by a small group of people, and began to slowly walk around the gallery, stopping by each photo. Her progress was slow, though, because she was surrounded on all sides by excited fans frantically trying to take pictures of her. This led to a comical situation where Stevie was looking at photos of herself that she took, while dozens of people tried to take pictures of her looking at the photos. Mick Fleetwood soon joined her on her walk around the gallery. While Christine McVie was also there, she mostly stayed out of sight.

The 24 Karat Gold exhibit officially opens Friday at a Manhattan art space called 201 Mulberry Street. Two days later, the show will move about a half-mile across town to the Morrison Hotel Gallery, which specializes in music photography, where it'll be on display for the rest of October. Prints are also available for purchase through the gallery's website.

FLEETWOOD MAC NEWS ON FACEBOOK

In April, 2013 New York Times Author Anthony Bozza began working with legendary drummer Mick Fleetwood on his life story, which will span the entire history of the band that bears his name.

In this candid, intimate portrait of a life lived in music, Mick Fleetwood sheds new light on well-known points in his history, including many incredible moments of recording and touring with Fleetwood Mac, as well as personal insights from a man who has been a major player in blues and rock 'n' roll since his teens.

The group Fleetwood Mac has sold over 140 million records worldwide, and they continue to attract a huge following, selling out their biggest arena tour ever in 2013, decades after their debut. Finally, the group's admirers will have a unique portrait of what made Mick and the rest of the group tick in the midst of their massive success and personal trials.

Stevie Nicks made history in March when the beloved singer-songwriter became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - first as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998, and this year for an extraordinary solo career that spans nearly 40 years.

To honor Nicks' groundbreaking achievement, Rhino has assembled a variety of new releases that celebrate her solo career with essential recordings chosen from studio albums, live performances, and soundtrack contributions, plus several of her most-celebrated collaborations with artists including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Don Henley, Lana Del Rey, and Lady Antebellum.

STAND BACK is available On 3-CD, 1-CD, 6-LP Vinyl, And Digital Versions.

Fleetwood Mac celebrates half century of music with a new 50-song collection that is the first to explore the group's entire career, from its early days playing the blues, to its global success as one of the most-enduring and best-selling bands in rock history. 50 YEARS-DON'T STOP is available as a 50-track, 3-CD set, a 5-LP vinyl set and a 20-track single CD version. Also available on all digital download and streaming services as well.

The new compilation touches on every era in the band's rich history and offers a deep dive into Fleetwood Mac's expansive catalog by bringing together essential tracks released between 1968 and 2013.

Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham is a comprehensive record of his illustrious career. Out October 5th on Rhino Records, Buckingham’s Solo Anthology will be released as a 3-disc set on CD and digitally and will also be available as a single disc abridged release. A 6-LP vinyl release is slated for November 30th.

Similar to last year's Record Store Day where Fleetwood Mac released the alternate "Mirage" album by taking the previously issued CD from the duluxe edition reissue and making it a stand alone album, Fleetwood Mac will once again bust out the alternative album cd from 2017's deluxe reissue of "Tango In The Night". For the very first time, these alternate tracks will make their way to vinyl for this years Record Store Day on April 21st. Warner Bros. will press 4,000 copies of the vinyl for the US and 8,500 in total worldwide.

“Most of these songs were written between 1969 and 1987. One was written in 1994 and one in 1995. I included them because they seemed to belong to this special group. Each song is a lifetime. Each song has a soul. Each song has a purpose. Each song is a love story… They represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken hearted and the survivors. These songs are the memories - the 24 karat gold rings in the blue box. These songs are for you,” commented Nicks.

Order '24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

FLEETWOOD MAC 'TANGO IN THE NIGHT'

REMASTERED AND EXPANDED

(RELEASED MARCH 31, 2017)

Featuring the hits “Little Lies,” “Everywhere,” “Seven Wonders” and “Big Love,” this 30th anniversary collection is available in Deluxe- 1LP/3CD/1DVD, Expanded - 2CD, 1CD Remaster and Digital Download and on all streaming services.

MERCHANDISE

NEW ALBUM IN THE WORKS
Christine was a guest on the Ken Bruce radio program on BBC Radio 2 and was featured each morning between Oct 7th and 11th choosing the "Tracks of My Years". Each day included a short interview clip with Christine along with her track choice and why. During the last day Christine revealed that she's currently working on new material and hopefully a forthcoming solo album saying its a return to her musical sound of the 70's.